Christmas Greetings Christmas is the
pre-eminent family feast for Christians. How
could it be otherwise since our focus is on the new-born Baby! His arrival is exactly like
all babies: defenceless and dependent, unique and individual—though he is also
singular, for in faith we believe he was born ‘not out of human stock or urge of
the flesh or will of man but of God himself’ (Jn 1:13). A baby is testament to an essential and genetic
‘connection’ that derives from its parents—a truly awesome reality. So, it is no wonder that we each try to celebrate
the day with ‘family’, however that family is constituted. Through the eyes of faith we also see another
connection with Him who is the Author-of-all-Life. His
code is written into our genes and we cannot truly know who we are without knowing Him
from whom we came. ‘He was with God in
the beginning. Through him all things came to
be, not one thing had its being except through him’ (Jn 1:2-3). Our encounter with him is an encounter with the
Divine—no longer a remote and distant notion or idea, but a person. Through the Christ-child may we continue to be
drawn into an encounter with the divine that is uniquely personal!
I wish you all a blessed Christmas Day in
that special place you call ‘home’. ‘Welcome
home’ to all who have travelled distances to spend Christmas with family in our
parish. I invoke God’s blessings on all,
being especially mindful of those who are sick at home, in hospitals and nursing homes,
all who live alone and all who are keenly conscious of an absence in their home this
Christmas through bereavement, emigration or any other circumstance. May the Nativity give assurance of God’s real
and personal presence which we embrace and accept with open arms because it comes in the
form of the baby Emmanuel, a name which means God-is-with-us (Mt 1:23).
Thankyou—A
word of thanks to all who helped in any way with the preparation of the Church for
Christmas Celebrations. A special thank you to
Patrick Hennessey for the supply and fitting of a new door and also to Power Plant Hire
for the use of a scissor lift to help with the erection of the Christmas tree and other
works in the Church and Adrian Dunne for his help with lights.
Senior Help Line - Senior Help Line, Ireland’s only
confidential listening service for older people provided by older volunteers is open 365
days of the year. The help line is open every
day of the Christmas holiday and New Year season from 10am till 10pm. So don’t be alone. We are there. Phone
Senior Help Line LoCall 1850 440 444, (no call costing more than 30 cent).
Down Syndrome Ireland—Down
Syndrome Ireland expresses gratitude to parishioners for their support of the Church Gate
collection in Nov of €235.74.
Bree Parish Newsletter—Bree
Parish Newsletter edition for this weekend, December 21/22 will be a double edition in
terms of community notices. Telephone
053 9247613. E-mail breecep@eircom.net. Bree CEP Office closed on December 20th for the
Christmas break. The office will be open on
Friday morning January 3rd for production of the Newsletter for 4/5th January. Items for inclusion should be handed, phoned,
e-mailed into Bree CEP Office by 12 noon on Jan 3rd.
Bree United Thankyou—Bree
United would like to thank everybody who helped make our first Christmas bazaar such a
success, all those who planned and gave up their time to create a fantastic grotto for
Santa and Mrs Claus, the running of the event itself and a special word of thanks to
everyone who donated prizes and also came and supported the club. One last special thanks
to Santa and Mrs Claus for taking time out of their hectic schedule to visit Bree. On Stephens Day, this years Bree Utd's Men
team take on a seasoned retired Bree Utd's team from a FEW years ago, in a
charity match , with all the proceeds going to Ard Aoibhean. I'm sure both teams would
love to have as much support as possible in what should be a great afternoon or absolutely
fantastic soccer!! |